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Liquid Gabapentin Contains Xylitol - Toxic to Dogs

When I was checking to see how many mg. of Gabapentin are in each ml of oral solution, I found that the oral solution contains xylitol. This is very important to know if you are considering using the liquid. See info and links below:

Gabapentin is only approved for use in humans, but is widely used in veterinary medicine for both analgesia and neuroleptic indications. Dosed at 10-15mg/kg orally up to three times daily, this drug has become a valuable adjunct in veterinary therapies. Historically, gabapentin was available as a 100 mg scored tablet, enabling dosing of small animals (e.g. those weighing 5 kg or less) by quartering or halving tablets. Recently, gabapentin 100 mg tablets have been discontinued by all manufacturers, resulting in gabapentin 100 mg capsules being the smallest solid dosage form of gabapentin on the market. Because these capsules cannot be easily divided into smaller doses by pet owners, veterinarians have considered using Neurontin (gabapentin) 50mg/ml oral solution to dose smaller patients. Unfortunately, Neurontin Solution contains 300mg/ml of xylitol, an artificial sweetener which is known to cause profound hypoglycemia and hepatic necrosis in dogs at single doses of 100mg/kg. Dogs receiving doses of 0.3ml/kg of Neurontin daily will be exposed to potentially toxic doses of xylitol. For this reason, veterinarians are turning to compounding pharmacists to compound patient-specific doses of gabapentin in capsules or treats, or compounded suspensions of gabapentin that do not contain xylitol.

... Unfortunately, neurontin solution contains 300mg/ml of xylitol, an artificial sweetener which is known to cause profound hypoglycemia and hepatic necrosis in dogs at single doses of 100mg/kg. Dogs receiving doses of 0.3ml/kg of neurontin daily will be exposed to potentially toxic doses of xylitol. ...

My neurologist said the Gabapentin she supplies me with does not contain Xylitol but if you get it from a regular pharmacy like CVS or Walgreens then it does contain Xylitol because its flavored for children.

The gabapentin Charlie was prescribed at the drugstore tasted bitter--I sampled it. This prescription formed clots and sediment. The prescription from the vet college tasted bitter, was prescribed with a shelf life of two weeks. It was a relief to be able to administer 100mls capsules.